Quietly and without much fanfare, an era ended in January: St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families stopped being an orphanage.

Of course, it stopped using that Dickensian word long ago, just as it no longer referred to the children who entered its care as “foundlings.” Times change, and terms change. So does the way society treats its most vulnerable members. At St. Ann’s, they’ve been treated with care since 1860, when Congress approved the institution, founded by the Roman Catholic order of nuns called the Daughters of Charity.

John Kelly writes "John Kelly's Washington," a daily look at Washington's less-famous side. Born in Washington, John started at The Post in 1989 as deputy editor in the Weekend section. View Archive

There once was a time when an abandoned child might enter St. Ann’s as a baby and leave as a teenager. Until January, the Hyattsville center included a residential program for youngsters in foster care, a temporary home on the way to something more permanent. That stopped when a contract with the District government ended.

“It’s sad, but it’s the right thing, because we haven’t had true orphans at St. Ann’s for decades,” said Sister Mary Bader, chief executive of the charity.

The preference now is for children to go with family members or into foster care, not to an institution.

A nurse cares for one of many infants at St. Ann's on May 16, 1946. (Arthur Ellis/THE WASHINGTON POST)

“As the need diminished for our kind of care for children, we recognized a greater need out in the community involving children and their mothers,” Sister Mary said.

That’s been a part of St. Ann’s for a long time, too. Its Teen Mother-Baby program helps pregnant teens prepare for childbirth, while also allowing them to attend a high school on the premises. Two residential facilities — Hope House and Faith House — are for new mothers between the ages of 18 and 25. There is everything from day care to employment counseling. The idea is to break the cycle of homelessness that afflicts so many poor families in our area.

Longtime Washingtonians may know of St. Ann’s because of Mary McGrory. The late Washington Post columnist was a faithful supporter, visiting often, reading stories to the kids, taking them swimming at the Kennedy family mansion in McLean, writing about St. Ann’s in this newspaper.

“In our situation now, we are being proactive in preventing families from having to be separated because of abuse and neglect or homelessness,” Sister Mary said. “I’m excited because we’re being faithful to our mission. Our charter calls for us to help ‘women in distress,’ in the language of the day. That’s what today we would call pregnant unmarried women.”

Is your car’s windshield a scrim of haze? Has someone written “Wash Me” in the grime of your pickup’s tailgate? You need a carwash.

Well, sir and/or madam, you are in luck. This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., members of the Magruder High School Leo Club will be washing cars at the 7-Eleven gas station at 15821 Frederick Rd. in Derwood. All proceeds will benefit Send a Kid to Camp. Said Karen Buscemi, the club’s sponsor and organizer of this annual event: “As usual, no set price, just whatever folks think a clean and shiny car is worth.”

If your car is spotless — or you don’t drive — there’s another swell way to show your support for Camp Moss Hollow, a summer camp for at-risk kids from the Washington area. Simply go to washingtonpost.com/camp and click where it says, “Give Now.” Or send a check, made payable to “Send a Kid to Camp,” to Send a Kid to Camp, Family Matters of Greater Washington, P.O. Box 200045, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15251-0045.

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Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.